PCA 2021: Gurkha

While I am not explicitly keeping track of which company has the largest booth space at the 2021 PCA Convention & Trade Show, Gurkha is definitely at the top of the list, with an expansive spread of 5,000-square-feet or so. And while it may not have been the most opulent booth, the company utilizes several graphic panels at the corners and an overhead banner to make it easy to find the space, while several display cases hold the company’s new offerings, which include a new line, a packaging refresh and some new samplers.

As you might read in another post, the Gurkha booth was also home to Sindicato Cigars, as the two companies share executive leadership and a sales staff. Jim Colucci has served as Gurkha’s coo and president since January 2019, while maintaining his roles as president and ceo of Sindicato Cigars. And since it will inevitably be asked in a comment, I didn’t see any sign of Kaizad Hansotia during the show, and the company continues to remove his name from its products following his resignation as chairman of the company in June 2020.

Gurkha Revenant Corojo

Gurkha released a pair of cigars under the Revenant name, this corojo-wrapped version and the maduro version you see below. Both are made by Tabacalera El Artista, as is the new Sindicato Artista, revealing another interesting connection between the two companies that shared the Gurkha booth. The biggest note about the two cigars is the binder; Ram Rodriguez of El Artista had pitched the idea of this being a Cameroon-wrapped cigar, and while Colucci like the varietal, he didn’t think it would work as well due to the leaf’s fragility. So Rodriguez came back with a blend that used Cameroon tobacco for the binder and this blend was born.

• Wrapper: Honduras (Corojo)
• Binder: Cameroon
• Filler: Dominican Republic (Criollo 98), Nicaragua & Undisclosed (Broadleaf)

• Gurkha Revenant Corojo Robusto (5  x 50) — $7.50 (Box of 20, $150)
• Gurkha Revenant Corojo Toro (6 x 54) — $8.50 (Box of 20, $170)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: Late August 2021

Gurkha Revenant Maduro

Besides the wrapper difference, the Gurkha Revenant Maduro incorporates a tobacco that is unique to Tabacalera El Artista, a hybrid called T13 that was developed by Ram Rodriguez and has been used in several of his creations over the past several years. Beyond that, the wrapper goes to a Mexican San Andrés leaf, while keeping the Cameroon binder that seemed to become the focal point of the blend the more that I talked to Jim Colucci about it.

• Wrapper: Mexico (San Andrés)
• Binder: Cameroon
• Filler: Dominican Republic (T13 hybrid), Nicaragua and Undisclosed (Broadleaf)

• Gurkha Revenant Maduro Robusto (5 x 50) — $7.50 (Box of 20, $150)
• Gurkha Revenant Maduro Toro (6 x 54) — $8.50 (Box of 20, $170)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: Late September 2021

Gurkha AGANORSA Leaf Sampler

Gurkha works with a number of factories to produce its cigars, and this newest sampler puts three coming from AGANORSA Leaf’s Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A. (TABSA) factory in Nicaragua in one package of six cigars, offering toro versions of the Gurkha Nicaragua Series, the San Miguel by Gurkha, and the Gurkha 30th Anniversary. They come in a humidified pouch which helps to ensure freshness, making it an easy grab-and-go or gifting option.

• Gurkha AGANORSA Leaf Sampler — $50

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: July 2021

Gurkha Nicaraguan Sampler

The other new sampler from Gurkha focuses on some of its Nicaraguan-made lines, offering toro versions of Chateau de Prive, Evil, Beast, Rogue, La Marqueza and Castle Hall Nicaragua. It is also packaged in a humidified, resealable pouch that helps keep the cigars fresh not only on their journey from the factory to you but also while you work your way through the sampler or have it set aside as a gift for someone.

• Gurkha Nicaraguan Sampler — $29

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: July 2021

Gurkha Ghost Gold – New Packaging

To help this line better stand out from the other Ghost blends, as well as on retail shelves in general, the company has updated the packaging to one that really makes use of gold. Expect to see it begin arriving on store shelves in September.